By Our Correspondent
The Palestinian Ambassador to Nigeria, Abdullah Abu Shawesh has called on the African Union (AU) to join the international community and the International Human Rights Council to investigate the event of Oct. 7 that triggered the Palestine-Israeli war.
Shawesh made the call during a media interaction with a selected number of newsmen, on Sunday, in Lagos.
TheNewsZenith reports that the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) facilitated the Media interaction. A similar interaction was held, last week, in Abuja.
He also calls for urgent humanitarian aid to prevent further starvation.
“Every day, our people are being killed. Only yesterday (Saturday), I was told Israeli soldiers killed 200 Palestinians.”;
“We will continue to stress this, we are calling for an independent international enquiry commission to come and investigate what happened on Oct. 7.
“To put an end to these claims and counterclaims on both sides, we need an international investigation to be established by international communities, the Human Rights Council and the African Unions (AU) to be part of this investigation.
They should also investigate what happened on Oct. 5 & 6. We the Palestinians had faced 104 attacks much more severe than what happened on Oct. 7, 2023, right from 1916 to Oct. 7, 2923 to date. We have all the evidence to back up these claims.
“From the beginning of 2023 up to Oct. 6, Israeli soldiers killed more than 162 Palestinians. One of them is a 2-and-a-half-year-old boy.
Also, he said many Israeli immigrants used to kill Palestinians in the daytime and even in front of cameras.
“They used to take shelf photos when perpetrating these killings of Palestinians.
The Ambassador told the newsmen that the people of Gaza need an immediate ceasefire to end the daily killing and hunger.
Shawesh also calls for urgent humanitarian aid to prevent further starvation.
“Every day, the Israelis kill our our people. Only yesterday (Saturday), “I was told Israeli soldiers killed 200 Palestinians. Shawesh also calls for the release of over 5000 Palestinians in Israeli jail since Oct. 7,” the Envoy lamented.
Shawesh, said the Palestinian Authority, or anybody for that matter, would not deny the fact that the Palestinian fighters attacked an Israeli community on Oct. 7, which triggered the war.
He, however, told newsmen that the Mahmud Abbas-led Palestinian Liberation Organisation has declared that it does not support military resistance.
“We did not, and I did not deny what happened on Oct. 7. And we are, in the Palestinian Liberation Organisation, persistent about this.
“President Mahmud Abbas completely declared, a long time ago, that we were not happy with what happened on Oct. 7.
“We are completely against the military resistance. President Abbas has declared this a long time ago. We are not in agreement with what happened on Oct. 7.
That notwithstanding, Shawesh said the Palestinians have been facing an unprecedented situation for a long time before and since Oct. 7.
“The Israelis can claim that something happened on Oct. 7 and no one can deny that fact. But the majority of the information flying around was not true. They claimed many Israeli soldiers died, yes and this is true.
“Gaza is now, nearly completely levelled. Israeli army has destroyed tens of thousands of homes. And it will take a lot of time for reconstruction and rehabilitation to take place.”
Since Oct. 7 last year, he said the USA has sent tens of thousands of tonnes of explosives in over 200 cargo ships to Israel for killing Palestinians.
“Two days before the end of last year, US Secretary of State, Blinken, came to Israel and boasted by saying: I have come here, not just as Secretary of State, but as a Jew.
“Since the beginning of the war, the US has not called for a ceasefire and the Security Council, they are blocked and vetoed a resolution calling for a humanitarian ceasefire
“The USA and Israel, till today, denied us our rights of self-determination, which is the basic right for every single person around the world.
“In the UN General Assembly, we have a resolution called ‘The Right of Palestinians to Self-determination (Resolution)’.
“More than 174 to 175 members voted in favour of this resolution, but America, Israel and their Western allies voted against the resolutions.
Earlier, the Secretary-General for the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), Prof. Ishaq Oloyede remarked that the Palestine-Israeli crisis was more about humanity.
Rather, he said the war was not about the religious connotations some sections of the society were labelling it.
“Religion is just an insignificant aspect of it for reasons best known to different parties. I think the issue is about humanity, about fairness, about justice, accountability and cooperation.
“The interest of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs is not to look at it from a religious angle. That’s why we invited people across different religions.
“Ours is just to call the attention of people to the fact that this is an issue that requires people who have a conscience, who have any blood of humanity flowing in their veins to have full information and be able to report it very well.
“That is just the purpose of our facilitating this interaction,” Oloyede, who doubles as the Registrar of the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) said.
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